


𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨 🁡 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠

by Adrenalineshots, sonshineandshowers, TheFibreWitch



Series: Domino 🁡 [5]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst, Caregiving, Case Fic, Digital Art, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hallucinations, Harassment, Health Emergency, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Mental Health Issues, Metafiction, Murder Mystery, Nightmares, Surrealism, Trauma, Unreliable Narrator, Video, a lot of really strange stuff that happens in altered states of consciousness, anxiousness, canon minor character death, night terror, reader-driven, systemic ableism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:47:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26502367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adrenalineshots/pseuds/Adrenalineshots, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonshineandshowers/pseuds/sonshineandshowers, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFibreWitch/pseuds/TheFibreWitch
Summary: Selecting 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠 from the bookshelf, Malcolm travels through his own mind.Read this story at:https://www.thedominostory.com/#lord-of-the-fliesThis book is one part of the Domino series. If you have not yet read thePrefaceorIntroduction, please head there first.
Relationships: Gil Arroyo/Jackie Arroyo
Series: Domino 🁡 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926451
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2
Collections: Domino 🁡, Prodigal Son Big Bang 2020 - Saturday Posts





	𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨 🁡 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jameena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jameena/gifts), [MissScorp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissScorp/gifts), [ProcrastinatingSab](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProcrastinatingSab/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Lord of the Flies](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/685267) by William Golding. 



> This book is one part of the Domino series. If you have not yet read the [Preface](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26497927/chapters/64577434#workskin) or [Introduction](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26497927/chapters/64588537#workskin), please head there first.
> 
> Betaed by the wonderful [Jameena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jameena/), [MissScorp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissScorp/), and [ProcrastinatingSab](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProcrastinatingSab/).
> 
> Credit to the creators and their works that inspired and were referenced in this work:  
>  **— Inspiration:**[Lord of the Flies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies) \- William Golding  
>  **— Cover Song:**[Nightmare](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_dqfcvTZik) \- Halsey

[](https://www.thedominostory.com/images/full/lord-of-the-flies.jpg) |   
---|---  
  
Malcolm wonders what it must be like for Gil to look after him. Gil’s done it for so many years now, it must come as second nature, yet as he sits in his office, an ice pack squished into his forehead and a cup of tea in his hand, he pauses to consider how Gil must be feeling.

He pulled him out of another mess in the precinct, and he’s likely upstairs dealing with his boss over such a public display. The back of Malcolm’s mind reminds him that all he can seem to do is cause trouble. The rest of his mind gets caught up in trying to imagine what Gil experienced.

“No — stop! Stop!”

Gil drops his pen at JT’s shout from the bullpen and flies out the door to several unis standing, looking at the conference room. Malcolm’s Oxfords poke out of the doorway, JT leaning over him.

“Give us some space, please,” Gil orders, grateful some of his long talks and additional training for the team seem to have worked — no one’s guns are drawn.

“Medical?” one of the unis starts to ask, but Gil cuts him off.

“Just space. Push back.”

Gil goes through the opposite doorway, finding Dani sitting on the floor where he assumes Malcolm’s head is. “Hey, hey — look at me, alright?” Dani says, while JT repeats, “Bright? Bright.”

Walking the long way around the table, Gil sees JT isn’t holding Malcolm as he had thought, but blocking him from view of the rest of the bullpen. Malcolm’s huge eyes stare up in confusion, his breathing rapid like he’d just finished a forty-yard dash.

“We’re gonna move you back a little so Gil can close the door,” JT tells him, and Gil follows the instruction while JT shifts Malcolm’s legs.

“Gil,” Malcolm speaks quietly.

“He’s right here — I can move so he can sit with you,” JT says.

Something must have transpired between them, as JT stands, allowing Gil to take his place. The kid sits up, crushing Gil with his hugging grip. “You’re okay,” Gil says, rubbing his back, not even knowing what had transpired to make him feel less than. He looks at Dani over the kid’s head, and she rubs her forehead in an exaggerated gesture. “Did you hit something?”

Malcolm doesn’t answer, but Dani nods. Gil would’ve tried to pull the kid back to take a look if his grip hadn’t been so terrified. Malcolm shakes in his arms, his panic rattling into him.

“I’m gonna make sure everything’s okay out there,” JT says.

“Don’t,” Malcolm pleads.

“I’ve got it,” Dani says instead, leaving without any protest from Malcolm.

JT retraces Gil’s steps around the table and takes Dani’s place.

“Fell asleep. I’m sorry,” Malcolm mumbles into Gil’s sweater.

“You’re alright,” Gil reassures him, his other hand coming to rest on the back of Malcolm's neck. “What happened?”

When Malcolm refuses to respond, JT steps in. “He hit the doorframe — freaked out some of the unis. After how well that went the last time…” JT sighs. “I wasn’t taking any chances.”

“No one drew as far as I could see,” Gil says.

“Progress,” JT confirms.

“Can I look at your forehead?” Gil asks into Malcolm’s hair.

Malcolm pulls his head back slightly, revealing a bruise, a red mark, and swelling in the middle of his forehead. His head quickly disappears back into Gil’s sweater.

“We’ll sit here as long as you need, Bright,” Gil tells him.

Sitting in Gil’s office now, Malcolm knows ‘as long as you need’ has taken over an hour. They’d quietly walked the few feet together from the conference room to Gil’s office, Gil shielding his entire body from prying eyes. JT had gone ahead of them, opening the door and closing it behind him as he left Malcolm and Gil alone.

How did Gil learn to deal with these things? Is there something about his personality that makes him extra good at caring for people? Or is it so many years of practice? He’s papa Gil to everyone around him, always willing to give a bit extra to help them.

Why hasn’t Gil given up on him? Malcolm sure wants to give up sometimes. He doesn’t because he doesn’t want to disappoint Gil.

Gil hadn’t wanted to leave him alone in his office. Yet he’d gone anyway, with Malcolm’s promise to call JT or Dani if he needed _anything_. If it is more serious, if he feels unwell again, he is to call Gil _immediately_. Gil’s instructions had been so clear they are ingrained in his mind even though the entire day’s events are a bit fuzzy.

He needs to stop falling asleep at work. Which means he needs to start sleeping more at home, which means he’s going to fail. Miserably. Cause an even bigger scene that he doesn’t get to hide from after because he’ll be dead on the floor.

Gil’s trying his damnedest, doing _everything_ he can to teach the entire department about approaching someone having mental health struggles, yet there’s so much systemic bias, one day it won’t be enough.

What will Gil do then? When he fails because of Malcolm? The tragedy of looking out for someone so much is one day, losing them.

It happened with Jackie. Gil took care of her every need by the end. It was his calling, the very reason he got up every morning. When she left them, all of his care focused on Malcolm.

Not that Gil ever failed to have an eye looking out for Malcolm. Rather, Malcolm is one of the only people Gil has to care for now.

Malcolm’s feet shudder against the floor and his back curls down so his head can rest on his knees. He should probably make one of those phone calls he had promised Gil. Maybe to Dani for more tea? Or JT just to joke about something for a little while?

Malcolm has no idea how Gil does it — he can’t even look after himself properly, and he’s exhausted. Closing his eyes and hugging his knees, he drifts toward sleep.

— ◌◯◌ —

Over his monitor, JT catches a glimpse of Gil’s office door closing, the blinds following suit. It’s not unexpected, but it’s not ideal either. “Gil’s here,” he says over to Dani’s desk.

“Shit,” she says, mirroring his gaze over to the door.

JT understands the comfort of continuing to work and knows their boss would usually be the one to chase them home. “I’ll go,” he says, standing before they end up in a discussion of who’s best suited to confront him.

He takes a lap to the coffee pot and prepares a fresh mug. Forgoing knocking, he walks into Gil’s office and up to his desk. “Hi, boss,” he says, handing Gil the NYPD mug. Gil takes it and leans back in his desk chair, giving it a sip. “How’s Bright?”

“Did you get any further with evidence collected from the scene?” Gil asks instead.

“CSU brought in the victim’s whole book collection.” JT lets his question go ignored. “Though I think Edrisa may have wanted to catch up on her reading.”

Gil gives him a glare that tells him move on — he’s not interested in anything lighthearted.

“Edrisa doesn’t think it’s a drowning. She’s waiting on tox.”

“That would be consistent with Bright in the hospital,” Gil scoffs and clutches his mug a bit tighter. “Who’s close enough to want to murder our victim?”

“She wasn’t exactly known for her glowing personality.” Charismatic, sure, but selectively so, much like Jessica could turn on her charm for the right person and switch it off just as fast. Veronica was great at her job, yet her tactics didn’t yield her a large collection of true friends.

“She knew what she wanted — it’s not the same thing as being cold.”

“Rubbed some people the wrong way. What have you called it… acquired taste?”

“Aren’t we all.” Gil takes a long swig of coffee. “You’ve got me for the next hour — put me to work.”

JT would suggest he go home, but he already knows the answer. Gil has time-boxed himself, so forcing the issue doesn’t seem like a pressing need. “How about another pair of eyes on the victim’s background?”

JT brings him to the conference room and motions for Dani to join them. Though it’s unlikely they’ll find anything new, they always welcome their boss’ perspective. Things even feel a little bit more normal with him in the precinct.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Head back to the [Bookshelf](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26497927/chapters/64588570#workskin) to pick another book. :)


End file.
